Tension mechanism for winding machines



July 4, 1939. v. H. MEYER TENSION MECHANISM FOR WINDING MACHINESFiledJuly 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor. zwn W7 July 4, 1939. v. H.MEYER TENSION MECHANISM FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed July 8, 19362,-Sheets+Sheet 2 Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES TENSION MECHANISMFOR WINDING MACHINES Vernon H. Meyer, Beverly, Masa, assignor toSibley-Pym Corporation, Lynn, Mass, a corporation oi MassachusettsApplication July 8, 1936, Serial No. 89,587

12 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for use in manufacturing. cores forgolf balls or similar wound articles and consists in a novel tensionmechanism constructed and arranged to deliver the thread being woundupon the core continuously under uniform tension and controlledcondition of elongation. For example, in winding 2. golf ball core froman elastic thread it is important to control both the percentage ofelongation imparted to the thread and the tension under which the threadis wound in order to meet the specifications laid down for theparticular balls being manufactured. The hardness and resiliency of thecore depend upon these factors, while the symmetry and homogeneity ofthe core structure depend upon their bein maintained without variationduring the winding process. The mechanism of the present invention isdesigned to meet these exacting conditions and to provide a compact andreliable construction which may be depended upon to act uniformly underthe more or less linfavorable conditions of commercial manufacture.

One troublesome variation sometimes encountered in the condition ofthread supplied to the core is occasioned by the catching of the threadat one end or other of the supply reel. When this happens an increasedinitial tension occurs in the thread and, if not corrected, this resultsin non-uniform winding or in breaking of the thread. The mechanismherein shown is designed to compensate for such temporary irregularitiesby releasing the retarding pressure to which the thread is subjected inpassing through the mechanism. On the other hand, if the initial tensionin the thread reaching the core is temporarily lowered for any reasonthe retarding feed of the tension mechanism is correspondingly andinstantly increased.

From one standpoint the salient feature of the invention consists in adance lever arranged continuously to weigh or-measure the tension of thethread in passing to the rotating core and to control by its movement inweighing or measuring the tension therein the retarding pressure towhich the thread is subjected. Preferably this mechanism is utilized inpart to effect a definite predetermined elongation of the thread undertension. As. herein shown the mechanism includes a pair of driven rollswhich are geared together to operate upon the thread with an increasingratio of peripheral speed and the thread is retarded and tensioned bybeing adjustably pressed against the first or slower moving roll of thepair. The dance lever above mentioned is arranged to control thispressure upon the thread in such a manner as momentarily to permit anincrement of forward slip to enter the rate of' travel of the thread andthus to compensate for temporary increases in elongation or tension. Asherein shown a thread-driven roll is mounted concentrically with respectto a support upon which the cooperating gear-driven roll of the setis'mounted and provision is made for rotatably adjusting the support tovary the length of wrap of the thread about the roll and so control theslip thereof. The mechanism also includes an oscillatory pressure armhaving cam connection with the dance lever and novel pro-- vision ismade for adjusting the pressure roll p which the arm carries to regulatethe position of the arm. It is thus possible to secure a fine adjustmentand setting of the whole mechanism to insure uniform action to a highdegree of response to variations in working conditions.

In another aspect the invention consists in novel thread-elongating andtensioning mechanism adapted for use in a winding machine of the generaltype disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,033,356 granted March 10,1936, on an application of Arthur F. Pym. For purposes of illustration Ihave shown the mechanism of my invention as embodied in a machineotherwise similar to the winding machine disclosed in that patent.

The features of the invention above discussed and others will be bestunderstood and appreciated from the following description of a preferredembodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown inthe accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a view of the mechanism in front elevation,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the gear connections of the mechanism.

In the drawings only so much of the machine is shown as is needed for acomplete understanding of the tension mechanism and for further detailsof construction reference may be had to the patent above identified.

The winding machine has a main frame which includes a vertical panel Infrom which project forwardly a pair of rolls H and I2 arrangedhorizontally side by side. An endless elastic apron I3 extends about thetwo rolls and cooperates. with them to support and cradle the core-20which is to be wound of an elastic thread I9. One or both of the rollsmay be driven thus imparting movement to the apron I 3 which in turnexerts peripheral traction on the core 20 so that it is rotated atuniform peripheral speed regardless of its diameter. The core ismaintained in place by a detector roll l4 having a convex rim andarranged to run freely on the upper side of the core 20,-as the latteris rotated. The detector roll is journalled in the free end of an arm l5extending horizontally across the front of the panel l0 and pivotallymounted on a shaft l9. It will be seen thatas the diameter of the core20 increases under the winding operation the arm l5 will be graduallyswung upwardly about its axis. The detector roll also functions tomaintain the core spherical in shape by reacting with the last woundturns of the thread to displace the core transversely to the windingplane.

The elastic thread is supplied to the winding machine from a reel l1rotatably mounted upon a standard I 8 at a point above the panel ID. Thethread is led downwardly to the tension mechanism, organized to impart apredetermined stretch and tension to it, and then upwardly over atension measuring roll which directs it to the core 20.

Part of the tension mechanism is mounted upon a circular flanged panel2| which is set into the face of the vertical panel I0 and adjustablyretained in place by clamping plates 32 which engage segmental ribs 33on its rear face as shown in Fig. 3. The circular panel 2| is formedwith a cylindrical hub or casing 22 in which are journalled threehorizontal parallel shafts each equipped with its own set of ballbearings, as best shown in Fig. 2. Of these, the shaft 23 is arrangedsubstantially at the center of the circular panel 2 I. It projectsforwardly and has keyed to its outer end a cylindrical steel roll 24.The elastic thread I9 is led directly to this roll in passing downwardlyfrom the reel I1. It passes about slightly less than of itscircumference, when the panel is adjusted as shown in Fig. 1, and isthen led about the circumference of a second roll 27 mounted on theouter end of a shaft 26 which is journalled in the boss 22 slightlybelow and to the left of the shaft 23 as seen in Fig. 1.

At its rear end, the shaft 23 carries a largegear 25 and this mesheswith a pinion 30 pinned to the rear end of a shaft 29 which isjournalled in the lower portion of the casing 22 beneath the shaft 23and projects rearwardly. The shaft 29 carries also a gear 3| which inturn meshes with a pinion 28 fast to the rear end of the shaft 26 whichcarries the roll 21 already referred to. The gear ratio is such that theroll 27 is positively driven at a greater speed than the roll 24, sothat in passing about the circumference of these two rolls, a positivepredetermined amount of elongation is imparted to the elastic thread Hi.The amount of this elongation may be regulated and adjusted inaccordance with the requirements of the work in hand by varying the gearratio. As herein shown the ratio is 1 :8, the elastic thread beingtherefore stretched to eight times its initial length in passing aboutthe rolls 24 and 27 on its way to the winding point.

The elastic thread I9 is maintained in engagement with the roll 24 by apressure roll 35, preferably rubber covered, whichis rotatably mountedin the forward end of a slide 33 adjustably carried in an upwardlyextending arm 39 which is pivotally mounted on a stud 43 near the loweredge of the panel Ill. The slide 39 may be adjusted horizontally uponthe arm by means of an adjusting screw 33 and is arranged to be lockedin adjusted position by a threaded clamping screw 31 provided forconvenience with a finger lever. The arm 39 also carries a wire threadguide 'loop 42 through which the elastic thread passes in-arriving atthebight of the rolls 24 and 35. A tension spring 4| tends at all timesto swing the lever 39 toward the left and to press the roll 35 againstthe roll 24 and the interposed thread l9.

The position of the arm 39 and also the pressure of the roll 35 isregulated in part by a cam carried at the upper end of the arm 39. Thiscomprises'a plate having a projecting cam flange 43, the plate beingconnected to the arm by a pivot 44, and being provided with a curvedslot for a threaded clamping member 45 also provided with a fingerlever. By loosening the clamping member the cam may be rocked about thepivot 44 to the desired position of adjustment, and for the purpose ofdetermining this, an index scale is provided upon the surface of the arm39. The cam 43 cooperates with a cam roll 50 which is freely rotatableupon the right hand end of a dance lever 5| fast to the forward end of ashaft 52 journalled in a boss 53 secured to the panel l0. At its lefthand end the dance lever 5| carries an idle roll 54 over which thethread |9 passes in a loop after it leaves the second or elongating roll21 of the tension mechanism. The cam 43 is so positioned upon the arm 39that when the dance lever is rocked in a counter clockwise direction thearm 39 is swungoutwardly tending to release the pressure upon the thread9, and thereby to reduce the tension therein. When the tension isreduced the dance lever 5| tends to rock in a clockwise direction, andthe cam roll 59 moves downwardly permitting the arm 39 to swing inwardlyand again increase the tension on the thread l9.

The movement of the dance lever 5| is dampened by a dash-pot mechanismconnected with the shaft 52 through an arm 55 which is pinned to itsrear end. Pivotally connected to the arm 55 is a rod 56 which extendsdownwardly into a dash-pot 51. The arm 55 also extends upwardly where itis provided with an adjustable stop 58 arranged to engage with a lugprojecting from the back of the panel Ill and limiting the movement ofthe dance lever.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided aself-contained tension mechanism operating to deliver an elastic threadto the winding point with a. predetermined degree of elongation andunder uniform tension. The roll 24 is rotated by the passage about it ofthe moving thread I9 and that in turn drives the second or elongatingroll 21 through gearing which steps up the peripheral speed of the roll21 in an 8:1 ratio with respect to the roll 24, or whatever ratio may berequired in view of the hardness of core desired. Since the elasticthread is normally wrapped about a substantial arcuate portion of therolls 2! and is pressed against the roll 24 by the pressure roll 35there is a negligible amount of slip between the thread and therespective rolls and the elongation imparted to the thread correspondsclosely to the ratio of their peripheral speeds.

The peripheral speed at which the core 20 is rotated by the apron I3 isequal to or slightly in excess of the peripheral speed of the roll 2'!so that the core is wound with thread which is maintained under the fullelongation imparted to it by the rolls 24 and 2'! and normally under thefull tension required to rotate the roll 24 and drive the gear trainrelated thereto. This tension, however, is weighed or measured andcontinuously balanced at a uniform value by the action of the dancelever 5|. The lever 5| measures or weighs the tension in the threadpassing to the core in that the lever movement is'proportional to thetension in the thread. The higher the tension in the thread the lowermoves the left-hand end of the lever and vice versa. ,The lever not onlymeasures or weighs the tension in the thread at each instant during theoperation of the machine, but visually indicates by its position theamount of tension existing from second to second. If for any reason thetension of the thread as delivered to the core rises, as perhaps onaccount of temporary checking of the supply reel, then the dance leveris pulled down at its left end by the bight of the thread and, as itsright end rises, the arm as is swung toward the right and the pressureof the roll upon the thread is relaxed permitting an increment offorward slip toenter itsrate of travel, with the resulting decrease inboth elongation and tension. In other words, the roll 24 does not, underthese circumstances, hold back the travel of the thread to its own rateof peripheral speed but permits it to travel at a slightlyfaster rate.Immediately the tension is reduced in this manner the dance lever isallowed to rock in a clockwise manner andthe cam permits the arm 39 toswing toward the left, thus increasing the pressure of the roll 35 uponthe thread and reducing its slip upon the roll 25. This balancing actioncontinues constantly during the operation of the machine with the resultthat the tension of the thread is maintained uniformly throughout thewinding operation.

The action of the mechanism above described may be regulated, controlledand adjusted by various means which will be now enumerated. In the firstplace the vibrations of the dance lever 5| is dampened by the action ofthe dash-pot 15 through the rod 56 and the limiting position of thelever in its clockwise movement is adjustably determined by the stopscrew 58. The range of movement of the cam roll 50 is thus maintained atall times within the amplitude of the cam 43 so that the spring 4i isalways effective in ten ing to rock the dance lever in aclockwise'direo-.

tion. The cam 43 itself as already explained is angularly adjusable uponthe arm 39 and may be positioned so that the displacement of the arm 39and its pressure roll may be effected more or less rapidly for any givenmovement of the dance lever. Further, the rubber covered pressure roll35 is adjustably mounted upon the arm 39 so that this may be broughtinto proper bearing with respect to the roll 24 when the arm 39 occupiesthe proper angular position to present its cam 43 to the cam roll of thedance lever. Finally the circular panel 2| may be adjusted angularly inthe machinein such a manner as to vary the arc of wrap of the thread l9about the circumference of the roll 21. For example, the clamping plates32 may be loosened and the panel 2| rotated in a clockwise direction tomove the roll 21 upwardly with respect to the roll 24 and so increasethe angle of wrap about the roll 24, it being understood that the roll24 is journalled concentrically in respect to the axis of the panel 21.By means of all these various provisions the action of the describedmechanism may be regulated to a nicety and any desired condition ofelongation and tension may be secured.

Many modifications and changes in detail will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of myinven tion and having shown and described an illustrative constructionembodying the features thereof, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is,

1. In a golf ball winding machine having corerotating mechanism and athread supply, tension mechanism including a thread-driven roll, athread-elongating roll geared thereto, a pressure roll for pressing thethread against said driven roll, and a tension measuring leverresponsive .to the tension of the thread and arranged to control byl1its movement the position of the said pressure ro 2. In a golf ballwinding machine having corerotating mechanism and a thread supply,tension mechanism including a rotatably adjustable supporting membercarrying thread-driven elongating rolls geared together to rotate atdifferent speeds, a pressure arm arranged to engage the thread againstone of said elongating rolls, and a tension measuring lever responsiveto the tension of the thread and having cam connection with saldpressure arm, said supporting member being rotatable to vary the wrap ofthe thread about one of said elongating rolls.

3. In a golf ball winding machine having corerotating mechanism and athread supply, tension mechanism including a rotatably adjustablesupport having a thread-driven roll journaled therein concentricallywith respect to its own axis of rotation, a thread-elongating rollgeared to the first mentioned roll and mounted eccentrically in saidsupport, and means for holding the support in different positions ofangular adjustment with said rolls in different relative positions withrespect to each other.

4. In a golf ball winding machine having corerotating mechanism and athread supply, tension mechanism including a thread-driven roll, an armcarrying a pressure roll for pressing the thread against said drivenroll and having a cam, and a dance lever movable for measuring thetension in the thread as it passes to the core and having a cam rollarranged to run on the cam of said arm.

5. In a golf ball winding machine having corerotating mechanism and athread supply, tension mechanism including cooperating thread-retardingrolls yieldably pressed together, a cam operated lever for separatingsaid rolls, and a dance lever movable for measuring the tension in thethread and having an adjustable cam connection with said cam operatedlever. 6. In a golf ball winding machine having corerotating means and athread supply, thread tensioning and elongating mechanism including apair of geared thread-engaging rolls rotatable at different peripheralspeeds to elongate the thread, a bodily movable pressure roll forretarding the thread by engaging it against one of said geared rolls,and a tension ,weighing device acted upon by the thread and movable forreleasing the pressure of the pressure roll when the tension in thethread exceeds a predetermined degree.

'7. In a golf ball winding machine having corerotating means and athread supply, tension mechanism including a thread retarding roll, anoscillatory arm having a pressure roll arranged to engage said retardingroll, means including a lever movable in response to variations in thethread tension for controlling the position of said one of which isconcentric in the panel, an oscillatory arm mounted outside said paneland having a pressure'roll adjustably mounted thereon for engagementwith the concentric roll in the panel, and a vibratory lever having aguide roll for engaging the bight of the thread as it passes from thegeared rolls to the core and having also a cam connection with saidoscillatory arm.

9. In a winding machine having core rotating means and a thread supply,a rotatable panel having a roll mounted thereon which is concentric inthe panel and a second thread roll which is eccentrically mounted on thepanel, an oscillatory arm mounted outside said panel and having atension-controlling roll mounted thereon, and a vibratory lever having aguide roll for engaging thread-elongating rolls located below the core,a

the bight of the thread as it passes from the eccentrically mounted rollon the panel to the core and having also an operative connection withsaid oscillatory arm.

10. A winding machine having core rotating means and thread supplyingmechanism including tension-measuring lever having a thread guide rolllocated above the core so that thread passes downwardly therefrom to thecore, and an arm carrying a pressure roll for engaging the threadagainst one of said thread-elongating rolls and a cam located above saidrolls in position to be acted upon by the tension-measuring lever.

11. A winding machine having core rotating means and a thread supply,tension mechanism including a thread retarding roll, an oscillatory armhaving a pressure roll arranged to engage said retarding roll adjustablymounted thereon and a cam surface located adjaceht to its free end,means including a tension measuring lever engaged by the thread as itpasses from said pressure roll to the core being wound and acting uponsaid cam surface for controlling the position of said arm and thepressure roll thereon.

12. A golf ball winding machine comprising a thread supply reel,core-rotating means, thread elongating means located between said supplyreel and said rotating means, thread tensioning means, and meansresponsive to changes in the tension of the elongated thread locatedbetween said elongating means and said core-rotating means for adjustingsaid tensioning means.

VERNON H. MEYER.

